Are most “Christian” Freemasons actually faithful servants of God who don’t truly understand what Freemasonry is all about? Does participation in Freemasonry become sinful only at the highest levels, where the most secret esoteric knowledge is revealed? Is the average Mason who never progresses past the first few degrees really aware of how wicked the craft actually is? Questions like these can often be pondered by conflicted family members, church members, and pastors who are faced with confronting a professing Christian about his participation in the religion of Freemasonry. No one wants to believe the worst about a fellow professing Christian and, thus, it can be the case that Christians excuse their Masonic familiars with one justification or another. However, this should not be the case. To be a Freemason one must become a Freemason. Because the steps taken to be initiated into the fraternity are inherently sinful, membership in the Masonic lodge itself is inherently sinful. To state the matter simply, one cannot be a Freemason and not be in sin. A simple examination of the first degree of Freemasonry shows this to be plainly true.
Upon his initiation to Freemasonry, a candidate is asked by the Junior Deacon of the Lodge, “Who goes there?” The candidate’s conductor (the Senior Steward of the lodge) is expected to answer as follows:
“A poor blind candidate, who desires to be brought from darkness to light and receive a part of the rights and benefits of this right worshipful lodge, erected to God and dedicated to the Holy Saints John.[1]
This something no one should be able to say about a Christian man; Christians do not walk in darkness. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). The terrible irony of the Masonic statement above is the declaration that the Masonic lodge is dedicated to John the Baptist and John the Evangelist (“the Holy Saints John”), the latter of whom is the very author who recorded Christ’s words about being the light of the world. Of John the Baptist, John the Evangelist wrote, “He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but came to testify about the Light.” (John 1:7-8). John the Baptist testified about Jesus Christ being the Light of the world. All Christians have fellowship with Jesus, the Light, and thus cannot be walking in Darkness. Yet, the Masonic lodge expects candidates to state that they are “lost in darkness and seeking the light of Freemasonry,” as if there is some source of light that the candidate needs other than Christ Himself. It gets worse from there. The following is the oath taken by candidates entering the first degree of Freemasonry:
“I, ________, of my own free will and accord in presence of Almighty God and this right worshipful Lodge erected to Him and dedicated to the Holy Saints John, do hereby and hereon, do solemnly sincerely promise and swear I will always hail, forever conceal and never reveal any of the secret arts, parts or points of the mysteries of Freemasonry which have been, may now or shall hereafter be communicated to me in Charge as such, to any person in the world, except it be to a true and lawful brother free Mason, or in a legally constituted lodge of ancient free and accepted Masons, and not unto him nor them therein until after due, trial, strict examination or lawful information, I shall have found them legally entitled to receive the same. I, furthermore, promise to swear that I will not write, indite, print, paint, stamp, stain, cut, carve, mark, or engrave the same upon anything moveable or immoveable under the canopy of heaven, whereby the least word, syllable, letter of character thereof may become legible to myself or intelligible to others, and the secrets of Freemasonry be unlawfully obtained, and that through my unworthiness. To all of which I solemnly and sincerely promise and swear to keep and perform the same, without any equivocation, mental reservation or secret evasion of mind in me whatever, binding myself under no less a penalty than having my throat cut ear to ear, my tongue torn out by its roots, and with my body buried in the rough sands of the sea, a cable’s length from shore, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in the twenty-four hours, should I ever knowingly or willingly violate this, my most solemn obligation as an entered apprentice, so help me God and keep me steadfast in the due performance of the same.”[2]
This is a bloody oath. Rather than just simply giving his promise to keep the secrets of the lodge, a candidate swears upon a created thing (in this case his own body). In the oath to the first degree, the candidate goes beyond letting his yes be “yes” and his no be “no”. To do so, he must disobey the Lord Jesus Christ, who said,
“But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.” (Matthew 5:34-37)
The Masonic candidate swears an oath by his head. He directly disobeys Jesus. Jesus said that this kind of oath is “of evil.” To enter even the first degree of Freemasonry, a candidate must disobey Jesus. A Christian simply cannot disobey the Lord Jesus and resolve that his act is anything less than sinful. This is not a matter of liberty or conscience. It is a matter of sin. To enter the first degree of Freemasonry, to become a Mason, a man must sin. To be a mason is to be in sin. Without extensive research or complex theological argumentation, this is proven. It is an open and shut case. Freemasonry, as demonstrated by the obligations of its first degree, is inherently sinful. To make matters worse, the “Christian” men who take the first degree’s obligation must then entice and facilitate other men to do the same in order to perpetuate their organization. Freemasonry is founded in sin and perpetuated by it.
So what is the Christian to do about the fellow member of his church who is at the same time a professing Mason and a professing Christian? He is to call him to repent. He is to demand that he forsake the lodge, for the tenets of biblical Christianity demand as much. Unrepentant Freemasons must be removed from membership in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Any church member or pastor who says otherwise and allows Freemasons to remain in church unchallenged, fails at his sacred duty. This issue, like any issue of sin, is a hill upon which to die.
It may be difficult, but it is time for you to have a conversation with any professed Christian you know who claims to be a Freemason.
“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.
[1] Harris, J. (1983). Freemasonry: The Invisible Cult in Our Midst. Towson, Maryland: Jack Harris. (p. 32)
[2] Ibid (p 35-36)
Seth Dunn 
Even in this photo, they are not showing the whole story. One foot should be shod. A lot of men think they “receive” ALL the messianic ” light” wisdom when they receive their 3rd degree and are raised as a master mason but this too is a lie. You NEVER receive all Masonic wisdom. In ALL the blue lodge degrees that is the first 3, you are told wisdom is being hidden from you and you are to hide it from other brothers.
Yiu have no IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.the term DARKNESS implies that the candidate does not know anything about Freemasonry I strongly urge you as a man who has been a Freemason for almost 20 years that there is no knowledge like first-hand knowledge no experience like first-hand experience you confuse Freemasonry for a religion Freemasonry is not a religion but it Embraces men of all race Creed’s colors and religions.Infact you must you have to belive in God
As far as first-hand knowledge goes, I interviewed the former Eminent Grand Commander of the Tennessee York Rite, and he told me Masonry was gnosticism, a religion, and incompatible with Christianity. I also interviewed Pastor Ralph Jenkins of Grace Baptist Church of Cartersville, also a former Mason, and he said Masonry was not compatible with Christianity.
In fact several published interviews of mine with former Freemasons can be found in my book, “Chrsitianity and the Craft.”
Kevin, are you a member of a church?
Actually, as a recent member, and Christian, Kevin is correct. Most of the stuff in Freemasonry is symbolism towards the organization. Within the ceremony the words “this is not a religion” come up. They even establish the idea that Freemasonry does not detract from your chosen religion nor does it profess to be a teacher of the Bible. Freemasonry is no more a religion than Hillsong Music or The Boy Scouts.
Also, our Presidents and military take an oath of office, does that make them sinful? Perhaps you forget that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) If we claim we have not sinned, we make God out to be a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:10) Yes, Seth, you are also a sinner. If we start kicking people out of church for sin, who would be left? This is cult-style thinking like Jehovah’s Witnesses that shun those they judge to be unworthy
There are people in the church that show up on Sunday and do nothing the rest of the week except go to work, care for their homes, and run errands. The Freemasons are involved in community outreach, something many churches have lost the desire or people that show interest. In some communities, the Freemasons are the ones providing support for those in need. The church helps those “in the church” which means, you need to be a regular before they will notice you. My own evangelical church is like that. It’s sad and the reason I needed to find a group that looked out for the community without any requirements of their faith.
People often demonize those things they truly don’t understand. I didn’t understand Freemasonry and thought it was a cult because the Mormons have plagiarized much of their culture. (thanks to Joey Smith). But after some evaluation, it seems this is just those looking for find fault in everything that is not “church”. I see Christians finding fault with so many things, many forget Colossians 2:16 but are quick to judge anyway.
I trust in Romans 10:9 where we are saved if we believe Jesus was raised from the dead and confess Him as our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us that it is not our works that save us as many cults try to push. No, not of ourselves, but our faith.
1. Hillsong Music? Hillsong is a church. It’s literally religion.
2. This is a typical Mason tactic, to compare Masonary to something respected like the Boy Scouts, the Presidency, or the military.
3. The specific objection is not swearing an oath but swearing “by things” which Masons do and Jesus specifically forbids.
4. Everyone who sins (Matthew 18, 1 Cor 5) should be lovingly called to repent by church members. Only those who do not repent and continue in brazen sin should be removed. This is biblical. Why deny this? You misuse scripture to do it.
4. Now you sound like a Jehovah’s Witness, bragging on your works. Masons also do this typically. “Look at what we do”.
5. If your church has a ministry of good works, why do you not work with it to do charity? Why go outside the church to the Lodge? Instead of partnering with fellow Christian church members, you partner with the Lodge.
6. Notice how this man puts down church members “who do nothing” in order to glorify the Lodge. He besmirches Christ’s bride to praise the Lodge.
Sorry, I thought this was going to be a discussion. Forgot that there are many individual beliefs that love to judge others. Fortunately, I trust my Bible that tells me I’m saved by my faith in Jesus Christ.
However, I always run into Christians that judge those who celebrate Christmas/Easter because of pagan history. I’ll hear others that judge those that drink alcohol. Others proclaim those with Tattoos can’t be saved. Others who look down on dancing or criticize those that don’t speak in tongues. Still, others find fault with those that aren’t baptized or spread the gospel.
My Bible tells me that if I believe in Jesus, raised from the dead, and confess Him as Lord, then I am saved. Praise the Lord!!
I had a huge reply to address your points but seems futile. I’ve tried to explain many different items to various Christians that already have their ideas locked down and discussion turns to anger as I already find your reply. I’ve talked to Preterist, Calvinists, post-Tribbers, Sabbath followers, etc. that all have locked down their beliefs and become like Flat Earthers. It’s OK. Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God who is Christ Jesus, my Lord. I’ll follow the path of Kevin and just let it go.
God bless!
This is a lot of straw man stuff.
It comes down to whether being a Freemason is a sin or a matter of Christian liberty.
I’ve shown here that it is a sin.
The question becomes, “How does the church deal win sin?”
Matthew 18 and 1 Cor 5, specifically, inform us on that answer.